3. Hands - Synesthesia
One form of synesthesia is basically this - associating letters and numbers with colors. It makes perfect sense that this album would be gorgeously colored and perfectly titled. Every aspect of the sound is shiny and welcoming, and it's always a refreshing listen. Cleverly catchy tracks like "The Game Is Changing Us" are exciting, with a bass line that is beyond infectious. What seems to blend some psychedelic influence with indie pop tunes turns into ambitious, visual tones seen rarely in new music. "Brave Motion" seems to be one of the lesser-experimented tracks, but it still maintains the same great feel, with a hooky vocal melody. If you're an Animal Collective fan, and you're looking for more poppy, simpler tunes, look no further. Hands' 2013 effort is an album you'll definitely get swept up in.